About Us
Vermouth was founded by women for women. It started with a search - our founders, a group of creative, successful women in Seattle, were looking for a lipstick that was easy to use, had great color payoff, and didn’t have a negative impact on the environment. After hours of research, they concluded that even the most natural and organic options still came in packaging that would end up in a landfill. That didn’t sit well with them, so after a long discussion over a glass of wine, they came up with the idea for Vermouth - natural, plant-based lip crayons that are made from sustainable ingredients and come in packaging crafted from compostable material.
Women are busy. Our founders understand that. They know what it’s like to juggle life, careers, children, and friendships. Like everyone, they feel confident one minute, then terrified the next. They also know the power of lipstick. It’s fun, playful, sexy, and confidence-boosting. It shouldn’t be a chore to put on, a struggle to match, or a research project to make sure it aligns with your values. Vermouth takes the guesswork out of buying lip color and delivers high-quality, long-lasting products straight to your door.
VERMOUTH: Be true to you. Then add color.
Meet Our Founders
MEG DIAZ, CEO and Chief Product Officer
After working for a small, independent beauty company, Meg met Jill, Vermouth’s Chief Marketing and Sustainability Officer, and the two women immediately began talking about their frustrations with beauty products, specifically lipstick (too much plastic packaging, marketing aimed at a young demographic). The duo quickly realized that they had an opportunity to make the products that they wanted to buy and disrupt an entire industry along the way.
When she isn’t consulting, developing the newest Vermouth colors, or working on Vermouth’s business plan and policies, Meg spends her free time on the ice rink (she both plays and coaches hockey), traveling (Paris and Rome are two favorite cities), cooking, and hiking. Meg created Vermouth’s distinctive lip crayons, basing the design on the Renaissance art tools she used as a Watson Fellow—during the year-long program, she served as a fresco apprentice in Italy and conducted research at the British Library and Courtauld Institute. Meg used her years of art training, fresco apprenticeship, and time working at a small beauty company to inform her formulation for Vermouth’s five introductory colors.
As an art student, Meg’s main makeup was black eyeliner, but the thick layers of black smudge were a time-consuming hassle, and for a while, she stopped wearing makeup entirely. Eventually, a love of fashion and color led her back to appreciating makeup. Today, when she’s feeling a statement look, she opts for Vermouth’s Wednesday, a thrilling red with a unique tone. “I didn’t want a classic red or a deep, dark red,” she explains. “I wanted an all-out stop-sign red!”
JILL JAGO, Chief Marketing and Sustainability Officer
With over 25 years of strategic communications experience—and a passion for making the world a better place—Jill develops and leads Vermouth’s marketing initiatives while ensuring that the company has the lowest possible environmental impact. Originally from the United Kingdom, Jill is a 30-year Seattle resident who has wholeheartedly embraced all things Pacific Northwest. From hiking to skiing to mountain biking, the mother of two finds inspiration outdoors, but she also enjoys exploration in another form: weekend nights are often spent grabbing craft cocktails with friends or trying the newest offerings from Seattle’s ever-growing food scene. In addition to leading a long career in marketing (where she spent 16 years heading up her namesake firm), Jill is a newly minted Futurist, and a member of the Association of Professional Futurists.
When it comes to makeup, Jill admits that as a former rocker chick, she spent much of her teens in heavy black eyeliner. After university (and with a dash more confidence), she moved to the French countryside where she spent a year wearing hardly any makeup. If she did opt for something, it was lipstick—like many women, she has memories of her mother and grandmother that are closely tied with the two women always wearing lipstick. Jill is a firm believer in permitting oneself to not do it all—she makes sure to take time for herself; whether it’s for yoga, walking her Australian Shepard Loki, or a good old Netflix binge. No matter what she’s doing, you can bet that Jill will be sporting a swipe of Thursday, Vermouth’s rich shade of plum. “It is my absolute go-to,” she says. “This color grounds me.”
MISIA TRAMP, Chief Customer Experience & Growth Officer
Enterprising since childhood, Misia brings her inquisitive nature and collaborative approach to her role as Vermouth’s Chief Customer Experience & Growth Officer. Born and raised in the United Kingdom, Misia currently lives in Seattle, where she has spent the past 15 years of a thriving 28-year career in market strategy, innovation, and trend forecasting. Misia has never been one to follow a linear path—her sense of adventure and love of human connection have taken her around the world (she is an avid traveler—both solo and with her family), and onto some of the hottest dance floors from Europe to New York. A Friday night out with Misia is always a good time.
The mother of two was first introduced to Vermouth through Jill, the company’s Chief Marketing and Sustainability Officer (their daughters attended the same school), and she felt an immediate connection to its mission of empowering women and disrupting the lipstick industry. After running several focus groups, Misia discovered that participants liked the smaller, sized-just-right tubes, and the Vermouth flight was born.
Growing up in a traditional Polish household, and as the eldest daughter, granddaughter, and great-granddaughter in the family, Misia toed the line when it came to makeup. She remembers saving up her pocket money to secretly buy her first lipstick, an iridescent purply-pink shade called Twilight Teaser. Although she’s elevated her look since her ’90s club days, Misia still uses makeup as a form of self-expression (she loves to play with color), with Vermouth’s bold pink Monday being her lip crayon of choice. “For a lot of people, pink would be a statement color,” she says, “but it just makes me feel like me.”
